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July 18, 2014

Top 10 Global Cities Creating U.S. Jobs

Recent Brookings report determined the top 10 global city-regions making foreign direct investments in the United States

The United States has long been the world’s number one destination for foreign direct investment.

A recent Brookings Institution report found that 5.6 million U.S. workers, or approximately 5% of the U.S. work force, are employed in the domestic operations of companies majority-owned by a foreign parent.

And the U.S. operations of foreign firms contribute much more than jobs to the economy.

Trade: Majority foreign-owned firms account for 20% of all U.S. goods exports.

Wages: Majority foreign-owned firms pay 22% higher average wages.

Productivity: Spillovers from FDI are estimated to account for 12% of U.S. productivity growth.

Advanced industries: The share of jobs in foreign-owned firms in industries focued on math, science and technology is four times the share in the broader economy.

R&D: Majority foreign-owned firms account for 19% of all corporate research and development expenditures.

Brookings examined foreign direct investment (FDI) — when a foreign company invests in a U.S. business either by opening a new operation or through a merger or acquisition — in U.S. metro areas and found that companies from 445 city-regions spread across 115 countries have direct investments in the United States. The average large metro area contains direct investment from 33 different countries and 77 different city-regions worldwide, according to the report.

ThinkAdvisor looked at the top 10 global cities and regions that Brookings determined are sending FDI to the United States.

10. Southeast England; 132,000 U.S. jobs

Foreign direct investment from the Southeast England region —west and south of London and stretching from Oxford through Reading, Crawley and Gatwick — supports nearly 132,000 U.S. workers, according to Brookings. Southeast England is home to companies that include security services providers G4S and Wackenhut, defense firms Qinetiq and Serco, and hospitality group Compass Holdings.

9. Baden-Württemberg, Germany; 134,300 U.S. jobs

About 134,300 U.S. jobs come from foreign direct investment from this auto-industry concentrated German state. It is here, centered around Stuttgart, where you’ll find some of the largest U.S. employers, like Daimler, Robert Bosch, and Mahle. Software giant SAP and many small and midsize manufacturers also hail from this region.

Home to multinational companies such as Delhaize Group in grocery stores, Anheuser-Busch InBev in beverages, Solvay in chemicals, and the parent of Safelite in automotive repair, Brussels provides nearly 154,800 U.S. workers with jobs.

6. Rhine-Ruhr, Germany; 165,400 U.S. jobs

FDI from Rhine-Ruhr gives an estimated 165,400 U.S. workers jobs, thanks to its traditional heavy manufacturing companies like ThyssenKrupp, the pharmaceuticals and life sciences giant Bayer, media empire Bertelsmann, and the No. 4 mobile telecom carrier in the United States, T-Mobile.

5. Amsterdam, Netherlands; 231,700 U.S. jobs

Amsterdam-based companies support approximately 231,700 U.S. jobs through FDI from employers including Ahold in grocery stores and Randstad in employment services, as well as insurance giant ING, consumer goods colossus Unilever and chemical company AkzoNobel.

4. Toronto, Canada; 256,500 jobs

FDI from Ontario-based companies — like The Royal Bank of Canada and TD Bank, Magna and Martinrea in the auto supply chain, Extendicare in nursing and care facilities, and Thomson Reuters in publishing — provide jobs to some 256,500 workers in the United States.

3. Paris, France; 429,500 jobs

FDI from the Paris/Ile-de-France region supports nearly 429,500 U.S. jobs, thanks to hospitality companies like Accor, food services companies like Sodexo, and infrastructure services companies like Veolia. Capgemini in consulting, Alcatel-Lucent in telecoms and BNP Paribas in banking also call Paris home.

2. London, England; 460,700 U.S. jobs

London-based companies have around 460,700 U.S. employees. London is host to a variety of companies with large U.S. operations, such as Shell and BP in the oil industry, HSBC and the Royal Bank of Scotland in finance, Intercontinental Hotels in hospitality, and BAE Systems and Invensys in precision instruments.